Carly Heath

Carly Heath writes inclusive historical fiction for young readers and brings experience in art, theatre, and design education to her storytelling. The Reckless Kind is Heath’s debut novel, published by Soho Teen in 2021. Set on a Norwegian island in 1904, it centers Asta Hedstrom, Gunnar Fuglestad, and Erlend Fournier, three queer and disabled teenagers trying to build a life outside their community’s narrow expectations. After Gunnar is gravely injured, the friends share a secluded cabin and pursue the prize from a local horse race as a path toward independence. The publisher identifies the book for readers fourteen and older and highlights its themes of found family, disability, identity, and self-determination. Heath earned degrees from San Francisco State University and Chapman University and has taught creative subjects at colleges and universities. The Reckless Kind uses historical constraint, rural life, theatre, craft, and equestrian competition to show its protagonists making practical as well as emotional choices about their future.